Trenching machine



I. i. HAMMEN.

TRENCHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV, 29, ms.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

2 SHEET$-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEY 1.1. HAMMEN.

'rmswcumc MA CHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV, 29, I919.

1,41 1 ,018, Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Jalzfairmwm INVENTOR WITN ESSEIS GEMWM.

v A'I-roRNEY s'rareswenr I orrics.

JOHN J. HAMMER, or srnnonn, IOWA mnnnenme momma 1 0 aZZ whom it may concemz:

Be it known that 1, JOHN J. HAMMEN, a citizen of the United States, residin at Spencer, in the county of Clay and tate of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Trenching Machine, of which the following is a specification. f v

This invention relates to excavating or trenching machines, and is an improvement on the machine described and claimed in my copending application, filed May 9, 1919, now Patent 1,343,081, issued June 8, 1920. In said application the invention was particularly directed to the curb structure,

andto certain cutters or reamers carried by the excavator chain for the purpose of widening the trench to accommodate the same to the curb, as it traveled with the machine. j i

In the present machine, the same excavating elements are used and the same curb structure is employed, but a different means has been provided to widen the trench to accommodate thetraveling curb. It is to this trench widening means that the present invention is particularly directed, All those parts which arecommon to the two machines will be found to. be described in greater detail in the previously filed application. ,In the present case only those parts are described at'lengthand claimed which are not included in the former application.

The inventionjwill be bestqunderstood upon a consideration of the following detailed description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity to the showing of the drawings but may be changed and modified so long fas such changes and modifications make no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the, drawings, I r 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a trenching machine with the invention applied, details of construction not pertinent to the invention being omitted.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the digging end of the boom showing the curb structure carried thereby as well as the trench widening, element on a larger scale than Fig. 1. v

vFigure 3 is a section on the l'ine 3-3 of Fig.2.

Specification of Letters Fatent. Patentgd [w n 28 1922; Application .filed November 29, 1919. Serial no, 341511. I

Figure 4: is adetailview ofQthe connection between the trench widening element and the driving shaft of the excavating meansj W Figure ,5. is: an enlarged cross section through the boom showing the relative artrench wideningmeans, r I a As far aspossible, the, same numerals have been used in the present drawings to designate the various parts as were. used in the drawings accompanying the application above referredto. i Referring "to the present drawings in greater detail, 'there,is shown an excavating structure 1, a boom 2, and a boom supporting frame of a well known type of trench digger. The boom carries an endless series of buckets or s'coopsf3 mounted on chains 4, and is supported or controlled by a derrick 5, all of which may be of usual conrangement of the excavating means and the struction. At the lower end the chain 4:

passes around supporting idlers 6 which are mounted upon "shaft 'Zsuitably journaled in the boom. f I

At the lower end of the boom there are also secured'side plates 8 of a curb, each havingilongitudi'nal brace bars'Q, and at the rearend of each plate 8 there is an upright bar9 j The plates 8 are braced and held in spaced relation by rods 10 connected to bars 9 and 9 and joined intermediate ofthe plates 8 by turnbuckles 11. Each plate 8 formed at the forward lower endwi th an ear 12 mounted on the shaft 7 as a pivotal support, so that the plates 8 may rock upon said shaft. M

Made fast to opposite sides of'the boom 2 are other plates 13 so as to move with the -boom. These plateslQ are in telescoping or overlapping relation to the'plates 8, and

have stiffening bars 14 secured thereto; Like '5 the plates Sthe plat-es13 are joined by rods 10. The assembly of the plates Sand 13,

connected and braced as shown and described, 7 forms a curb, traveling w th the trench dig ger, as it moves along the ground,iwith the bottoniof the curb traveling along the bottom of the trench."v H

The trench formed by ,the buckets or scoops 3 is narrower than the width of the curb, and in order to suitably form. the trench toaccommodate the curb additional {cutters 15 are provided. These'cutte'rs 15 have teeth 16 substantially similar to saw teeth in form and each cutter is pivotally mounted upon the boom at either side there- Rods 17 are secured to the upper ends motive power and mesh with the excavator I chains 4, as shown in Fig. l. The pinions 21 are adjustable in desired positions along the shaft 22 and the sprocket wheels 19 are adjustable on'the countersh'aft for a reason which will be 'made clear.

As will be seen by reference to Fig. 5, each trench widening element 15 is secured tov the 7 lower and outer endsof a series of rocker effect the. same..-purpose.

arms 23. The rocker arms 23-are mounted upon shafts 24,;Wh'ich pass through and are supported by the boom 2. Any desirable number of these rocker arms may be provided, it being only essential" that each rocker arm b'e pivotally mounted upon the b onr nd that it rock freely about an axis provided by the boom. Collars 25 spaced fromeach other are provided for each rocker arm23,wh e'reby with the aid of set screws or the like it may be clamped upon the said shaft 2 f, but obviously any" other desirable construction may be employed which will 7 Each rocker arm is 'extendedoutwardly beyond the plane of the adjacent excavator chain 4 and itsouter endextends at an angle inclined out of the vertical so as to hold thetrench 'widening means 15 ina position lying well beyond the excavator buckets- The arms 23 are adjustable in and -out along the shafts 2e so that the width of the cut made by the cutting elements which they carry maybe varied. This is the reason why the pinions 21 and sprocket wheels 191are adjustably mounted on their shafts. Obviously when a wide cut is, to be made, the cutting elements 15 will bemoved toward the opposite ends of the shafts 2a and there clamped, while the wheels 19 and21 will likewise be moved.

' 1 The cutters which widen the trench for the reception of the curb in the present application are different from all similar cutters in their specific form, the saw-like teeth being considered an especially novel feature.

Another element of novelty is believed to be the adjustjability of such cutters. A further i feature of the present application is that the cutters reciprocate and cut in both up and down strokes. The planes in which they i cut,it will. be seen,a're always outside of the cut made 'by'the excavator elements, The

present cutters are driven directly from the same shaft that drives the excavating means, and make cuts in'advance of the plates 13 of the curb, so as to permit ready accommodation thereof as the trenching machine advances along the ground. The cutters are practically parallel. to the forward edges of the curb, as Figs. 1 and 2 disclose, and are inclined out of the-vertical, while being pivoted upon the boom they always assume the inclination of the latter. The cutters dig ahead of the boom from one to three feet according to the different sizes of trenching machines.

What is claimed is 1. In a trench digging machine'provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted on the boom, a curb, cutters mounted on the boom to work in advance of said curb,1neans for driving said cutters, and means whereby the cutters and their driving means may be adjusted toward or away from each other.

2. In a'trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted on the boom, a curb, cutters pivotally mounted upon said boom to reciprocate in planes divergent downwardly and to cut in advance of said curb.

3. In a trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted downwardly, and said cutters "widening the trench in advance of said curb.

5. In a trench digg ng machine provided with a boom, excavatlng elements mounted on the boom, a curb,'a series of rocker members, and cutters secured to said members, said rocker elements being adjustablyniounted upon said boom, whereby the width of the cut may be varied, said cutters working in advance of said curb and assuming the inclination of said boom.

6. In a'trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements i'nounted on the boom, acurb, cutters pivotally mounted upon the boom and extending outsidethe cutting line of the excavating elements, said cutters extending lengthwise of the boom and cutting in advance of said curb, and means for driving said cutters from the actuating means for said elements.

7. In a trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted cutting line of the excavating elements, the said cutters extending lengthwise of the boom and cutting by reciprocatory movement in advance of the curb, the cutters working in planes divergent downwardly and being adjustable toward and away from each other, and means for driving said outters from the actuating means for said excavating elements.

8. In a trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted on the boom, a curb, a series of rocker members arranged on each side of the boom, a saw-toothed cutter secured to each series of rocker members and having reciprocatory movement with respect to the boom, said rocker members being adjustably mounted on the boom whereby the width of the cut may be varied, the outer ends of the rocker members holding the saw-toothed cutters in planes divergent downwardly, said cutters working in advance of said curb.

9. In a trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted on the boom, a curb, rocker arms mounted on the boom at each side and extended outwardly beyond the cutting plane of the excavating elements, said arms having their outer ends inclined, cutters secured to said arms, and means for reciprocating said cutters.

10. In a trench digging machine provided with a boom, excavating elements mounted on the boom, a curb and a pair of reciprocating cutters mounted on said boom in advance of said curb and in planes without the excavating elements. i i

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. HAMMEN.

Witnesses M. GELLEAS, R. C. HART. 

